Glazing

Moving on from an extensive colour range, Elite compact greenhouses also come with an array of glazing options. These being horticultural, toughened and polycarbonate.

Horticultural glass is the standard choice and is the most common, cost-effective and traditional glazing type. It’s provided in a 3mm thickness and comes in 2ft by 2ft panes, which are clipped onto the greenhouse’ frame.

Toughened glass also comes in a 3mm thickness but has been tempered to British Standards EN12150 in order to make it a lot stronger than the horticultural alternative, but of course, comes at a higher cost. There are two main advantages of toughened glazing; firstly, in the event of a pane breaking, the glass shatters into tiny pieces rather than dangerous shards - ideal if children and pets are around. Secondly, the panes are provided as ‘long pane’, which are longer panes that fit the whole side of the greenhouse, rather than clipping multiple smaller panes together, as such with the horticultural option.

Polycarbonate glazing is the third option, and costs around the same price as the toughened option. Polycarbonate isn't actually glass, but a virtually unbreakable plastic sheeting. The polycarbonate glazing on an Elite compact greenhouse is 6mm thick and twin-walled, meaning that it does a great job at keeping the heat inside of your greenhouse as it can’t escape as easily as entering. It’s also the safest glazing option out of all three, being as it’s plastic, there are no safety concerns of it ever shattering. The only downside to this type of polycarbonate is the fact that the glazing isn’t clear, but more of an opaque finish, which some gardener's don't like the overall appearance of.